Essex County Council has made at least £1.2 million in less than a year because of motorists driving through the Duke Street bus gate – sparking accusations that it is using the restriction as a lucrative money spinner.

A total of 37,066 Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) have been issued in the ten months between the special number plate recognition camera being switched on in August 2017 up to the end of May 2018.

That is an average of 121 fines each day over the period.

If a similar number of people continue to gather fines, the council may expect to raise at least £1.5 million in a year - assuming that every single one of those motorists pay in time to qualify for a 50 per cent discount on the £60 fine.

Signage has been improved at the Chelmsford bus gate

Appeals raised

Of the 37,066 PCNs issued, 104, just 0.28 per cent, have been registered as appeals with the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.

Of the 95 that have been resolved, 78 have been found in favour of the appellant - a success rate of 82 per cent.

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Altered signage

The bus gate on Duke Street

Glenn Lushington, from Maldon, won his appeal against the council after he inadvertently drove through the bus gate on Duke Street earlier in 2017, when it was found that the signs were not clear enough.

The council has since altered signage by making previously existing traffic regulation signs more visible, after the adjudicator said no contravention occurred due to inadequate signage.

The report said: "Before reaching the traffic lights, Mr Lushington would have passed a sign on his left hand side which pointed to the bus gate to the left.

"The sign contained a lot of information. Predominantly I consider a driver in a moving car would have had their attention caught by the red, warning triangle about the restricted height of the bridge.

"If the information about the bus gate was missed, there are no further signs about the bus gate on the approach to the traffic lights."

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'Inadequacies of the system'

Around 8,000 people were caught in the Duke Street bus gate in the first four weeks of the enforcement cameras going up at the start of August.

Since the start of enforcement the number of people illegally using the bus gate has reduced to less than a quarter of the number before the council began to issue PCNs.

But it is still leaving more than 100 motorists who are unwittingly or deliberately contravening the restriction each day.

Mr Lushington added: "The figures are indicative of the inadequacies of the system – they need to sort it out.

Revenue from fines will be reinvested to improve the county's transport network

An Essex County Council spokesman said: “It has been illegal to drive through the bus gate at Duke Street in Chelmsford since 2011.

"Before turning on enforcement cameras, we increased signage at all junctions leading to the bus gate, sent more than 3,000 warning notices and painted the words “BUS GATE” in five-foot high letters on the road at both entrances to help make drivers aware of the restrictions.

“The number of people illegally using the bus gate reduced to less than a quarter of the number before we began to issue Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs).

"This has helped to ensure buses at the nearby bus station can run on time, has stopped cars using the city centre as a ‘rat run’ and has increased safety for pedestrians using this busy junction close to Chelmsford railway station.

"Following the advice of the TPT, we have further increased the level of signing in recent months to aid driver awareness of the restriction.

"The aim here has always been to minimise the number of incidents over time through a combination of raised awareness and enforcement.

“All money generated by PCNs is ring-fenced and reinvested to help improve public transport, roads and the transport network across Essex.”

"What I question is the management and the duty to their customers – if they can’t be bothered to address issues that are highlighted it smacks of things like Grenfell.

"What is stopping them putting in a bloody great "No Entry Except For Taxis" on the bridge?”

The council has said the move aims to help improve bus journey times to and from the nearby bus station and support safety in the city centre.